Jigger for use in the manufacture of articles from plastic materials



March 18, 1930. w; J. MILLER 1,750,762

JIGGER FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM PLASTIC IATERIALS Filed Oct. 25, 1926 5 3 BR 'I'II zines. 56 7e 4 r '36 51 f as 16q I 1 v n 5 5" Patented Mar. 18, 1930 UNITED STATES P TENT o nca WILLIAM J. mums, or SWISSVALE, PENNSYLVANIA IIGGEB FOR USE IN THE MANUFACTURE ARTICLES FROM PLASTIC MATERIALS Application filed. October 25, 1926. Serial No. 143,994.

My invention relates to improvements'in jiggers for use in the manufacture of articles from plastic materials, and it consists in the novel features, which are hereinafter described. i

One of the objects of my improvement is to prevent wear of the moulds, due to friction of the chuck of the jigger thereon when inserting the mold into the said chuck and 1 when removing it therefrom. Another object of my improvement is to facilitate the insertion and removal of the mold.

A further object of my improvement is to save time and-labor in operating the jigger. Another object .of my improvement is to have the profile stationary and the mold brought up to it during the operation of the jigger, thereby releasing the hand of the operator, which is otherwise employed in manipulat ing the profile, also to employ this reciprocating motion to assist in releasing the mold from the chuck.

A still other object is 'to have the mold automatically loosened from the chuck of the jigger preliminary to having it removed erefrom. A still further object is tov have my improved jigger simple, durable and inexpenslve.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear; u

I attain these objects by the mechanism, one form of which is illusgrated in the Ipccomi pan ng drawings or 7 y. any nec anica equi i alent or obvious modification of the same.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a central vertical section of one form'of my improved jigger,

showing the foot lever, which is hereinafter described, with its treadle broken awe also showing the jigger spindle and sundrv oth parts inelevation, and showing the material on the mold in dotted Fig. 2 is a detail plan view on a reduced scale of the mold supporting or intercepting plate, which is hereinafter more fully dey scribed; Fig. 3 is a detail plan view on a reduced scale of the band brake, which is hereinafter described, with parts of the jigger which are adjacent thereto, and Fig. 4 is a parts throughport of a jigger spindle 12, which terminates at its upper end in a chuck 60. to support a mold 62 withm'aterial thereon under a stationary profile 61, which is shown as having therein vertical slots 61* and is adjust ably secured to an extension 53 of said frame 11 by means of screws 68; the extension 53 has therein horizontal slots 61 to cooperate with the slots 61 of the profile 61, to permit adjustment of the position of said profile 61 in all directions in the plane thereof.

The upper end of the spindle 12 slides in a socket 54 in an extension 56 of said frame 11,

which extension also serves as a support for a mold supporting or intercepting plate, which is hereinafter described.

A bearing 13 is shown as formed in said frame 11 for a horizontal shaft 14, which may be connected to a source of power, such as a motor or line shaft, by means of stepped pulleys 49 and 50, which are secured to said shaft 14:.

A friction gear 15 is slidahiy mounted on said shaft 1% by means of a spline 7'1, and is kept in position in contact with a gear 22, which is hereinafter described, by means of a compression spring 1'3, which is abutting a at its outer end against a nut 18, which is adjustably positioned on a threaded portion 19 of said shaft 14:, and. has therein. a hole 18 for the insertion of a pin for turning said nut 18 on said threaded portion 1.9. A collar on said Shaft 14 limits the motion of said 3 shaft 14. The nut 18 serves to adjust the gear15 on said shaft 14 and fixes its extreme position thereon; another collar 16 serves to prevent the horizontal'displacement. of said 10 which is hereinafter described.-

The spindle 12 is shown as having mounted thereon a friction gear 22, which may be adustably secured thereto bymeans of is suitable set screw 23 said gear 22 is to be engaged by said face 21 of the gear 15.

A facing 22" of leather or any other suitable material may be secured to the upper-part of the eri he 24 of said ear 22, to increase the riction t ereof when 1n contact with said face 21. A similar facing is secured to-the' lower part of said periphery 24., for the purpose hereinafter described.

A fork 25 is swivelled on a neck 26 on said spindle 12, whereby said spindle may be raised and lowered.

A. tensile spring 28 is shown as secured at one end thereof to an extension 72 of said frame 11 and at the other end thereof to a pitman or vertical rod 29, which carries said ork 25, thereby tendingto draw said fork downwardly,'and said vertical rod 29 is slidably mounted in the frame 11 and the extension 72 thereof and adjustably connected to said fork 25, and it has at its lower end a roll 27, to be acted on b a lever 27, whereby the rod 29 ma be raise and lowered, thereby raising an lowering the fork 25 and the spindle 12.

Nuts 57 and 58 on'a threaded portion 59 of said rod 29 permit the adjustment of said spindle 12 with the chuck 60, which is hereinafter described, vertically by means of said fork 25.

. Aflange or floor late 30 is shown at the lower end of said i rame 11, for pivotally connecting said lever 27 to the frame 11;

. screws 30 and 30 on said plate 30 limit the and chuck may be a motion of the lever 27 in either direction, and bolt holes 30 are provided in said floor plate 30, for securing the same to the floor by bolts or screws. The length of the stroke of said spindle 12' and the position thereof ma be varied by varying the amplitude of sai lever 27 by means of said screws and 30. By adjusting the screw 30", the highest point of reciprocation of the spindle 12 and chuck may be limited or adjusted without affecting the lowest point of IBCIPIOCSQZD rocation of saidspindlethereof, and by adjusting the screw '30, lowest point of reci justed or limited without affecting the hi hest thereof, and ei er or th of the oregoing int of reci rocation be made without affecting the vertical ad'ustment of said spindle by the nuts 57m 58 on hated, and vice which is shown as mounted'in a circular recess in said frame llopposite the lower part of said gear 22 and resting on springs 35 in circular pockets 34 in said frame 11; the springs 35 tend to lift thebrak'ej33. Screws arejprovidedvfor adj the pressure on said springs 35 under said rake 33. 7

Plates 36 are provided on said frame 11, to limit the lift'of said brake 33. The position of the plates 36 may be adjusted vertically by means of the screws 76. p

Bolts 36 areprovided, to secure the i I 1 of the sections of the brake 33 to each 0 er and springs 73 between the flanges, ten to. spread the flanges apart. I prefer to ace a filler block 7 between one pair of the flan of said brake 33,asshowninFig.-4of

- Slots 36" are provided in the frame 11, as shown in Fig. 3, for said flanges to slide theredsal in, when said brake 33 is lifted by springs, 35, thereby reventing rotation of the brake 33 on said ame 11.

A horizontal mold-supporting member or intercepting plate 63, which has therein a central opening 74, is adjustably connected to an extension 56 of said frame 11 by means of bolts 64, passing through enlarged o nings 66 in said extension 56, and nuts 6 to intercept the mold62 when the spindle 12 is lowered, thereby separating said mold from the chuck 60 ofsaid spindle 12, after the operation of profiling iscompleted and to support said mould-62 thereon after separating it from said chuck 60 until it is removed by the operator. The openings 66 permit said plate 63 to be ad'usted in'all directions by means of said b0 ts 64, and each or openings 65 for facilitating the removal of the moulds therefrom.

A clearance69 is provided between the edge of the openin 74 in said plate 63 and the periphery of it e mold 62 to permit the aware:

placing of the mold 62 thereinto when the plate 63 is slightl displaced.

An annular bea 70 is lso provided on the underside of the mold 62,130 prevent dis- 3 placement of the same on said plate 63.

The operation of this form of my improved jig ger is as follows he jigger spindle 12 is normally raised from the pivot bearing 37 on said frame 11 and is supported in position by said brake 33, which is in contact wtih the lower friction surface 32 of said periphery 24; the spindle 12 is then stationery, with the chuck 60 thereof below the intercepting plate 63; the

mold 62 is then deposited into the plate 63,

' gently as the surface 31 is opposite the inner end of the face 21, which has a shorter radius than the other end thereof, when there is little pressure therebetween, permitting relative ,slipp kig; as the spindle 12 with the gear 22 is being further raised by the operator, the pressure between said surface 31 and the face 21 increases by virtue of the taper of said face 21 as shown, thereby gradually increasing the velocity of said spindle 12, until its highest velocity is attained when the chuck 60 with the mold 62 and the material thereon is brought into operative position under said profile 61; there is practically no sli ping then between said surface 31 and said face 21. The material 55 is then given the shape of the required article by the coaction of the profile and the rotating mold 62.

The variation in the rotary speed of the spindle 12 is accom lished partly bythe stepped pulleys 49 an 50, partly by the variation of the distance of said gear 22 from the shaft 12 and also to a large extent by varying the amount of slipping between said surface 31 and said face 21 by means of the internal taper of said face 21, as is hereinbefore described.

The leather or other resilient facing'22 assists in securing a firmer grip between said surface 31 and said face 21 and also, by

' means of its resilience, it helps to transmit motion at the lower speeds of said spindle 12,

when said surface 31 is opposite the inner from excessively overlapping the gear 22,

A belt maybe employed to connect said pulleys 49 and 50 to a source of power.

The position of the gear 22 on the spindle 12 may be so adjusted that, when the spindle 12 is raised, the surface 32 of the periphery 24'will first get clear out of contact with the brake 33 and then move some distance vertically before the surface 31 will come into contact with the face 21 of the gear 15, thereby allowing a short interval between brake action and rotation, thereby allowing more time for the replacement of the successive molds 62 on the plate 63 before rotation of the chuck begins, when the newly placed mold is promptly brought under the profile 61 The springs 35 under the brake 33 serve to advance the action between the brake 33 and the gear 22, when the latter is lowered with the spindle 12, to stop the rotation of the latter before the mold 62 is intercepted by the plate 63, to prevent wearing of the mold 62 on the said plate 63.

v My improved jigger may be modified by making the profile rotary and the mold reciprocating on a reciprocating rod or column or both the spindle and the profile may have rotary motlon.

My jigger may also be modified to have only some of the features above described embodied therein without the others, for exam le: it may have intermittent rotation wit gradual acceleration and retardation of the chuck'60 and mould 62 thereon to reduce the wear on the later without reciprocation of the motion thereof, or it may have recipro cal motion of the chuck and mold to cooperate with a suitable member for releasing the latter from the chuck, to facilitate handling of the mold, without intermittent rotation.

The mold may also be reciprocated otherwise than as above described. The intercepting plate 63 above described may also be used for purposes other .than above described; the reciprocal motion of the chuck 60 may also be utilized for useful above described.

The spindle 12 may also be omitted, and the chuck 60 actuated by other means or mechanisms, if desired.

Many other changes may be made in the details of my improved jigger without. departing from the main scope of my invention, and parts of my invention may be used with out other parts.

purposes other than details as shown, in the drawings, but I intend to include also all mechanical equivalents and obvious modifications of the same within the scope of my invention.

1 clalm as my invention and.- "desire to secure by Letters Patent: Y 1

- 1. A pottery forming machine including a mold,.a chuck for rotating the mold, means for automatically engaging and disengaging.

the chuck and mold, and means for ing the rotation of the chuck before the mo d is means for automaticall e aging and dis- ,the chuck an mo d, and a brake en ggustab e to'halt the rotation of the chuck members, means for rotat' ore the mold is therefrom.

3. A potte formirfimachine including two members aving tive vertical movement, a'mold supported alternately by said the mold when it is supported by one of sad members, and a vertlcally adjustable friction brake for stopping the rotation of the mold before it is supported by the other of said members.

4 4. A pottery forming machine including a mold, a profile, means for moving the mold toward and from the profile, means for rotating the mold, and a friction brake adjustable to halt the rotation of the mold prior to the comiletion of its movement away from the 5. A pottery forming machine including a mold, a profile, a su port for the mold, means for moving the mo d from said sup rt toward the profile, means for starting t e rotation of said mold after it has been moved from said support, and means for gradually accelerating the rotation of said mold.

6. A pottery forming machine including a spindle and a chuck adapted to support a mold, a friction gear carried by said spindle,

. friction driving means adapted to cooperate with the friction gear, and means for vertically moving sai spindle and chuck, the friction drive being so constructed as to vary the velocity of rotation of said chuck in accordance with its vertical position. 3

7 A pottery forming machine including a spindle ada ted to support'a mold, means for rotating t e s indle, means for vertically moving the spin 1e, and means for varying the speed of rotation of said spindle in accordance with its vertical position.

8. A pottery forming machine including a P mold, means for rotating the mold, means vertically moving themold, and means for controlling the rotation ofthe moldin *accordance with its vertical position.

9. A pottery forming machine including a mold, asupport therefor, means for causing a relative substantially vertical movement between the mold and the support, means for causing a relativerotary movement between the mold and said support, the speed of said rotary movement being controlled by the verticalmovement.

10'. A ttery machine including a mold,

- a, chuck or rotating the mold, a stationary support for the mold, means for raising and lowerin mounte resilient means for varying the frictional conl i A incl ding ld 'e'n' amo, a chuck or rotating the mold, a support for the mold, means for raising and lowe the chuck and'themod,a friction wheel fixedly associated with saidchu a driving wheel for cooperation with said friction gear, the ent of the arts beings'uch that the friction gear and r will become or dise as e chuck is reciprocated, resili- -ent means for the dri wheel axially toward e friction gear, an an adjustable stop for the axial movement of the driving wheel.

12. In a jigger of the class specified, a frame, a stationary mold sup rting member thereon, a stationary pro e member, a

indle terminating in a mold supporting c uck and adapted to be vertically reciprocated to bring a mold into and out of opera-' tive position relatively to the profile member a drive shaft mounted in said frame at right angles to said spindle, and coactipg, intermittently contacting friction gears justabl secured on sai s indle and said shaft, t e gear on the drive shaft being continuously driven and the acting surface thereof tapered to gradually increase and decrease the frictional contact between said gears as the mold is moved into and out of operative position.

13. In a (jigger of the class specified, a

frame, an a justable mold-sup rting member thereon, a stationary pro e member, a vertically reciprocable spindle terminating in a mold-supporting chuck, a friction ar adjustably secured on said spindle, a rive shaft mounted in said frame at right angles to said s indle, an adjustably and yieldingly friction gear on said drive shaft the acting surface of which is tapered from the outer periphe of said gear inwardly toward the center t ereof, and means for adjusting. the vertical reciprocation of said indle. 14..v In a jigger of the class specified, a frame,-a stationary profile thereon, a rotatably mounted spindle terminating in a mold-supporting chuck, a drive shaft, meeting, intermittently contacting friction gears on said spindle and said shaft, and'means for im arting vertical reciprocation to said spmdlecomprisinga pitman and cross'fork connecting said pitman and spindle, said fork being adjustable on said pitman to adjust the' altitude of reciprocation of said spindle.

15. In ajigger of the class specified, a frame a stationarily mounted vertically and. lateral] adjustable profile member, a stai tionari y mounted vertically and laterally ad- *the chuck to engage and disengage the mol a friction drive for said chuck, and,-,

reciprocable spin a terminating in a mo 'justable cross fork connecting said pitman;

sup rtin chuck, means for reciprocatin s'ai spm e OOmPIISIDg a pitman and an a ed and the acting surface thereof tapered to graduall increase and decrease the frictional contact speed of rotation.

WILLIAM J. MILLER.-

tween said gears simultaneously with the acceleration and deceleration of the 

